simple MP's are idiots
rant/
The MOD spend over the odds to get kit that comes in late or over budget because of the issue of planning stupidity and the fact they are clueless morons, added to the fact R&D boys can talk them round and the need to preserve jobs so our lot can provide weapons overseas to dodgy places, knowing jobs are safe by our govt faffing.
It then gets bought already off the shelf from someone else that did it years ago when the MP's send the boys off to die in some daft combat and the fact the kit isn't there is actually made a head line. Under so called emergency funds (mp's reacting to bad headlines???? Never) which is also going to be cut.
They can't sack off the carriers as we already don't have carriers, we have toy cargo ships converted. We don't have a navy anymore, it is second rate in the world and only just second rate by the subs which most of the world don't have. So losing the pocket carriers which old age means will happen loses our effectiveness at anything remotely useful overseas and giving us a third rate navy. As we are an island overseas means anything.
Add in we already have lost sea based air to air because harriers were scrapped about five years too early so nothing to replace them and you realise how much of a shambles things are.
AND the fact lessons of the falklands said a plane or helicoptor is needed to fly over a navy to act as recon for missiles, because large waves ground the radar of ships to limited ranges and you realise why the nimrod is used, as well as the sea kings. (major lesson learned to the point the US have two pieces of hardware doing that task at all times, we are scrapping one of ours)
Right now we couldn't have another falklands as we don't have the planes to use from carriers or the carriers. Seeing as we have two pocket carriers now??? and fewer chopper carriers.
The air force can't afford to put bullets in the eurofighter because of frame stresses when firing it so the RAF isn't much better off, and if cuts continue it will be the service as 40000 makes it a force. Below that it isn't allowed to be called a force.
What we need is the govt to resign and the MOD to get people with brancells on board. People who visit a front line and ask squaddies what is needed, not some desk jockey from white hall.
A typical good question might be.
"Squaddy on the front lines, Do you have a gun that works or do you use the 1945 designed SA 80 that has had 3 redesigns at least because of a bad flaw in that it can't be used in bad weather, mud, sand etc, and whose heavy caliber support version has around 3 seconds of fire before needing a reload because the clip is 30 bullets? Meaning under emergency funds we needed to buy you all a Belgian heavy machine gun before sending you over seas? A gun so good we are the only country in the world to use it for the army and who is considered pants by the police force which chose alternatives when looking to replace their weapons."
/end rant
All our armed services are in a shambles.